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| Blessing Effiong |
The story
Blessing Effiong, an Akwa Ibom orphan was carried by my fellow blogger, Linda
Ikeji some time ago after it was first published by Punch. Below is how Linda
narrates it !
Blessing is
a 19 year old girl (she will turn 20 in August) who has been incarcerated at
the female ward of the Kirikiri Prisons since November 2008. She has been
locked up since she was 16.
I've been
to Kirikiri prisons. I've seen Blessing. I've hugged her. I've cried with
her...and I promised her I will do everything in my power to get her out. I
hope to keep that promise..I already have a team I'm working with to make this
happen...but we need more people to get involved in her case. (There are some
things I can't put out here but we need all the help we can get).
According to Blessing (this is exactly what she told me) on the morning
of the 14th of July 2008, she bought a phone from a guy around her area in
Ebutte Metta for N800. It was a Starcomms phone worth about N10k which she
wanted to use to start phone business. The same evening she bought the phone,
she got a call on the phone from some guy who said the phone belonged to him,
that he was robbed and dispossessed of it a few days back. Blessing offered to
return the phone back to the guy on the condition that she will get her N800
back. The man promised her the money back and she gave him her address. The man
showed up a few hours later with police.
Blessing
was first taken to Ilupeju Police station where she was kept for a few days.
Then on the 18th of August she was transferred to State CID Panti where she was
kept for a while. She was then charged to magistrate court Ikeja, from where
the magistrate remanded her in Kirikiri prisons to await advice from the
Director of Public Persecution. The advise didn't come until 2012. And his
advice was for her to be charged under section 427 of the criminal code. (Crime
about receiving stolen property).
Then her
story became public after a Punch reporter accompanied the Attorney-General of
the state, Mr. Ade Ipaye, and representatives of the Office of the Public Defender
on a visit to the prisons to evaluate the number of awaiting trial persons
there. 3+ years awaiting trial. Sad, huh?
Well, some
of us got involved and she's finally been charged to court for receiving of
stolen property before a High
Court of
Lagos State
I will be
in court that day, anyone else if free to come. It's the Igbosere high court on
Lagos Island
For those
who are curious about her family, Blessing is an orphan. Her father died when
she was very young and her mother died just last year. She told me her
incarceration led to her mum's death. She was her only daughter. Blessing has
two brothers but they are in the East and as helpless as she is.
When she's
finally released, Blessing will be needing a lot of help. Will keep y'all
updated.
Thanks for
reading.
Source: Linda Ikeji
blog
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